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Podcast 579-Internet Censorship. The news media has a new story-line. Fake News Elected Donald Trump. We have to do something about fake news. It amounts to is censorship of the Internet. A violation of the right to free speech guaranteed by the US Constitution’s first amendment at least in spirt. What IS Fake News? I think of Fake News as False Narratives. Story lines seeded by politicians and corporate PR people. Narratives that are picked up and reported on by journalists who take down quotes for their stories rather than investigate and report. These story lines are picked up by more journalists who quote talking heads. Commentators commentate, more quotes and more stories until the narrative outlives its usefulness and then the whole thing starts over. Examples include explanations of why Trump won the election including, ‘Women voted for Trump instead of Hillary’. Another was the reporting on ‘What the Polls showed’ which usually meant Clinton was supposed to win. Facts in both cases debunked these claims. The definition of ‘Fake News’ we’re actually dealing with now are false stories presented as fact. You see them on You Tube, FaceBook and Twitter. But they are picked up by websites like Breitbart or Huffington Post if they fit a narrative. Since ‘fake news’ elected ‘a person like Trump’, Clinton backers are demanding social media and search engine companies like FaceBook and Google ‘do something about fake news’. In Podcast 579-Internet Censorship, we spend a little time explaining the American Political system, specifically the Electoral College. This explains how Donald Trump was able to eke out an electoral victory in key states, as well as a solid victory among the voters of Ohio, which gave him a victory in the presidential contest, regardless of popular vote totals, fair and square. There is virtually no evidence fake news had anything to do with these tight victories. If Clinton’s voters had actually voted in those states we’d be talking about a Clinton transition and Trump would be on a beach in the Caribbean somewhere. Despite the fact that Clinton has been a proponent of doing away with the electoral college for years, suddenly the hoary old institution is her best friend. We don’t know if anyone voted for Trump based on the Pizza Gate story, we can’t and we won’t. That doesn’t stop the left from putting immense pressure on FaceBook, the supposed culprit here in publishing so called fake news. What does Mark Zuckerberg the head of FaceBook do? He caves. A second story making the rounds in the alt-right community with headlines like, “We told you so” says they’re already censoring the Internet. Finally there have long been discussions in the national security and foreign policy community regarding censoring Islamic Jihad sites that radicalize followers. All three of these stories are being conflated right now online as though some imminent threat to free speech exists. Is there? Or are these companies simply formalizing procedures to suppress violent or illegal content that has been part of their service agreements? As a content creator the idea of ‘warning labels’ is chilling. The idea of some kind of algorithm to be defeated is chilling. That said, wouldn’t such procedures invite work arounds? Wouldn’t censorship invite efforts to defeat algorithms? Personally I don’t concern myself with speech control in countries that don’t have guarantees of free speech. I do care about attempts to limit speech in the United States where free speech is THE cornerstone of a successful representative republic and is constitutionally guaranteed in the first amendment. You can’t stop things you don’t agree with. As a content provider, this concerns me. Sponsored by X Government Cars and by Hydrus Performance.

Podcast 578-Jennifer Lokken-Culture Wars. A FaceBook friend of mine recently posted an article on her page about the Culture Wars. The Battle Of The Sexes. It’s clear there is a general rethink of the Feminism movement. Some call Feminism a cancer on our society. Some Feminists believe it is time for a shift in the movement’s focus from legal equality to attacking ‘The Market’. That’s right. The market is considered by them to be male dominated. In her mid thirties, Jennifer Lokken has had six children. She takes care of the house and homeschools her kids. Her husband works. Some data shows housewives are happier than feminists, indeed happier than women in any other occupation. Jennifer talks about her post and her ideas. Relationships. How men and women relate to each other. The question of whether women in other parts of the world treat men differently than American women. What men and women need and want. Much of what Mrs. Lokken has to say in this interview might be controversial. I present the interview without endorsement or judgement. My conversation with Jennifer illustrates the idea that there is a push back against feminism. We hear a lot about how men treat women in this country, but we don’t hear a lot about how women treat men. We don’t hear much about men who have gone ‘on strike’ refusing to have meaningful relationships with women. We don’t hear how men feel about being made the butt of jokes in mainstream media and entertainment. We don’t talk about how many boys and young men are confused about their roles. With fake news about rape how should we raise healthy boys and girls in this environment? How do we teach them to treat each other with respect and dignity? Is there a truly equitable way for men and women to marry and raise children, work and … be happy? By the same token, is the institution of marriage so sacrosanct as to become a jail for a women, or man? You may agree or disagree with Jennifer’s opinions and life choices, but she will definitely make you think. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing of Saint Paul.

Podcast 577-Bob Davis Podcasts Radio Show-55. As the Trump Transition rolls on, it’s The Messiah Syndrome, Partisans Painting Themselves Into a Corner and False Narratives. Eight years ago people in this country thought Barack Obama would fix everything. Obama was a God. The new Messiah is Donald J. Trump. He is going to fix everything. He has been ‘chosen by God’. Trump ‘will be defended by God’. We ‘have to pray for him’. It’s always good to celebrate a victory, but the US Presidency is a political office. All the things that are supposed to get fixed become a question of what is possible with Congress, the Courts, the executive departments and the states playing a role. When it comes to political nuts and bolts Trump supporters and most republicans can’t be bothered. From day one Messiah Trump will be embroiled a political struggle. The clock is already ticking on the next congressional cycle in 2018. Gubernatorial campaigns are already underway in many states. Cabinet Secretaries and bureaucrats don’t come from central casting. Many of the people who end up filling those positions will not necessarily be ‘Trumpers’. Many of them are Washington Insiders. Then there are the many new voices on the so called right that have emerged in the last few years. Many of them wholeheartedly endorsed Trump and they will now have to defend him. Have they painted themselves into a corner? False Narratives are also spreading like a bad virus. How and Why Trump won the election. What the electoral college is supposed to do. Russia hacked voting machines. Whatever the ‘theory’, the idea is to keep us watching and distracted. The Facts of Life present a major challenge to the future of this country. US Debt levels are over 100 percent of the total economic output of the country. Federal spending continues to skyrocket. Entitlements like Obamacare, Social Security and Medicare will swamp the federal budget in the next decades and we have plans to spend trillions on roads and bridges? We’re also facing significant foreign policy and economic challenges in the next few years. Podcast 577-Bob Davis Podcasts Radio Show-55 takes a look at what we have to do to meet these challenges in the next few years. Shouting at people in an airplane aisle, memes and tweets will not work. Sponsored by Hydrus Performance, Ryan Plumbing and X Government Cars.

Podcast 576-Bob Davis Podcasts Radio Show-54. Hillary’s recount demands and Fidel Castro’s death prove real news stories are out there. Podcast 576-Bob Davis Podcasts Radio Show-54 features a look at the opportunities and challenges confronting the people. I have no endorsement of any major candidate to defend. I have no wish to add to the media reactive political noise. What I can do is help people break out of the political box, by asking some important questions. If Donald J Trump is chosen by the Electoral College and inaugurated in January of 2017, the Republicans will be in the best position to control the Federal and State Governments in decades. However, celebrating republicans should keep in mind, most elected republicans leaders are still ‘establishment’ types. Despite his promises suddenly Trump is backpedaling on repealing the Affordable Care Act, and prosecuting Hillary Clinton. His top advisors are discussing a trillion dollar stimulus package for infrastructure. He’s pulling back on the ‘big beautiful wall’. ‘Moderate’ republicans are also pulling back on trade policy and managing expectations on foreign policy. It is doubtful republicans will address tough economic challenges with policy fostering dynamic economic growth. While we’re lost in debates about tweets from Trump Tower, The US economy is hampered by too much regulation, excessive debt and spending. Many of the so called social problems in this country can be attributed at least in part to low employment and slow or no economic growth since 2008. This is why it feels like we’re living in the Matrix. With a technology revolution as significant as the industrial revolution we need new ideas about society, politics and government. Instead, we have institutions designed for an agricultural or industrial age that don’t serve us anymore. On top of all that are demographic changes. The Baby Boom population is aging rapidly. Younger people have different ideas about politics, government and society. The future belongs to these younger demographics, and with different ideas about society, ‘Conservative’ and ‘Liberal’ mean different things. To address the challenges of the future will require more of us than reacting to tweets, the latest outrage, or someone’s personality. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul, Hydrus Performance, and X Government Cars.[powepress]

Podcast 575-Surviving Thanksgiving. How to maintain your sanity through Thanksgiving and the rest of the holiday season. As the final curtain is drawn on election 2016 the phrase “it’s all over but the shouting” should read, “It’s all over but for Political Junkies and others who can’t let it go”. Whether it is the cast of a broadway play, members of the alt-right paying homage to their leader, or Kanye West it seems sometimes as though people have lost their minds and are intent on making fools of themselves. Prepare for the toughest challenge of the political season: Your family at the Thanksgiving Day Table. A News Cleanse might be just what the doctor ordered. The Thanksgiving experience sets the tone for the rest of the holiday season. Podcast 575-Surviving Thanksgiving provides some simple ground rules so you don’t end up in a screaming match with your crazy uncle. If you are the crazy uncle these rules apply double. Back in the day people gave thanks at harvest time for surviving one more year. Today we give thanks for the new flat screen TV and stuff more of that cheeseball into our mouths. My favorite holiday is the fourth of July. No one cares what you do, or what you eat, or how much beer you drink and there are fireworks. Fireworks! At Thanksgiving it’s dark, winter is coming and we’re stuck with people who may just say things to see what happens. The culprit at Thanksgiving is High Expectations. People get very emotional. They want everyone to be happy. If you start in about Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, everyone is not going to be happy. Among strategies for avoiding arguments or falling victim to relatives who like to poke at you, I mention techniques for changing the course of the conversation abruptly. Just bring up the Hollow Earth theory, Planet X, The Mandela Effect, the new Paul Is Dead theory, Time Travel, the Trumpets of Jericho and the idea that the world actually ended in 2012 and we are living in a computer. These are like conversational ‘in case of emergency break glass’ tools. Use them wisely. And have an excuse that allows you to leave early. Sponsored by X Government Cars, Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul and Hydrus Performance.[powepress]